Progress has recently been made in technologies for highly integrating semiconductor devices, whereby resist materials for the devices need to have various properties including transparency, stability, hydrophobicity, heat resistance, suitable polarity, and suitable solubility in organic solvents. Compounds with a lactone moiety have been developed as the resist materials with the properties in recent years. For example, (meth)acrylate compounds with a bicyclic or tricyclic lactone moiety are proposed in JP-A-2002-234882. Further, (meth)acrylate compounds with a tricyclic lactone moiety having a substituent are proposed in JP-A-2002-308866.